Raw-sugar conveyer



June 17, 1930. w. H. HOODLESS RAW SUGAR CONVEYER 4 SheetsG-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 26, 1927 InvenTor Wfiiam.H.Hoodless by 7115 QICy Wowt June 17, 1930. v w. H. HOODLESS' 1,764,100

' RAW SUGAR- CONVEYER Filed Feb. 26, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet ray. 4.

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Inventor.

Mfllliam/ H. Hoodless.

byhfs aTt'yM W June 17, 1930. Q w o s s 1,764,100

RAW SUGAR CONVEYER Filed Feb. 26, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet. 5

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RAW SUGAR CONVEYER Filed Feb. 26, 1927 4'Sheets-Sheet 4 uni? 4 Invenivr 52 :j WINQWUHHQOQLQSS Patented June 17, 1930 WILLIAM H. HOODLESS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA RAW-SUGAR GONVEYER Application filed February 26, 1927. Serial No. 171,343.

Raw sugar reaches the refinery in bags.

It comes frequently in very large quantities, on the Atlantic coast often in cargo lots on steamships.

fineries is to store this sugar in bulk in large bins, removing it from the bags before storing it. From the bins it is withdrawn as needed for the processes of refining. Usually the raw sugar bins are placed above the ground floor of the refinery. The place of unloading of the bags from the ship or car is generally at quite a distance from the bins. Heretofore these bags containing the raw sugar were carried by travelling cranes or 1 even by hand trucks to the mouth of a bin. The cord closing the mouth of the bags was cut by hand, and the bags lifted by main strength and emptied into the bin. The bags, which are customarily of a few standard sizes are all heavy, and the work of lifting them is exhausting and slow, and required many hands. Men frequently broke down when employed at this work.

By my device the bags are received by my 25 conveyer first on a feeding apron, that is power driven but the movement of which is under the control of an operator who can stop or cause it to move independently of the movement of a main conveying apron, which is normally in continuous movement. This feeding apron furnishes means for distributing the bags singly or in convenient groupings along the main apron and is located at a convenient place in practice near the repose. The bags usually'must be deposited on the feeding apron in irregular heaps, and as the conveyer will work more ehiciently when the bags are distributed along the main apron fairly evenly, the value of the feeding apron is apparent. The main apron carries the bags that it receives from the-feeding apron to the vicinity of the bins, and, near this point, the bags are gripped near their bottoms by movable carriers, while the bags are lying on the main apron,and are drawn over a downwardly inclined surface where upon the bottom of bag is lifted gradually by the carriers, the sugar being emptied from each bag as its bottom is lifted, until the bag The practice prevailing at re-' ceiving end of the main apron for this pur-- is emptied. The empty bag can then be disengaged from the carrier. This inclined surface is furnished, in practice, by an auxiliary apron placed adjacent to the main belt. This auxiliary apron can form the bottom of an inclined chute down which the sugar will flow. The discharged sugar passes down the inclined apron. This arrangement of the inclined apron and bag carriers obviates the jarring that otherwise would happen, were the bags weight thrown upon the bag carriers suddenly at the discharge end of the main apron. The conveyer substitutes ma chine work for the heavy labor of unloading and hastens the carrying and storage of raw sugar and obviates considerable crude, expensive and dangerous agencies like the long distance traveling cranes, and the labor required to be performed manually with it in use is directive, the hardest labor being occasional manual adjustment of the bags upon the main apron, which is many times easier than lifting the bags.

Fig. 1 is a plan of my device shown diagrammatically. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the intermittently moving apron. Fig.3 is an elevation of the discharge end of the main apron, the bag emptier and the inclined auxiliary apron. Fig. 4 is a plan of the discharge end of the main apron and of the inclined auxiliary apron. Fig. 5 is an elevation of a bag carrier when its spring, 7, is not extended. Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the hook bus and the hooks of a bag holder. Fig. 7 is an elevation of the trolleys and upper part of a trolley hanger of a bag holder, the trolley track being indicated in section. Fig. 8 is an elevation of the driving mechanism for the main apron and inclined auxiliary apron. Fig. 9 is an elevation of a bag carrier with the spring, 7 extended, as by carrying a bag of sugar. Fig. 10 is an end elevation of the inclined auxiliary apron. Fig. 11 is an elevation of a turret and sprocket used in a modified form of bag emptier. Fig. 12 in an elevation in detaih of the drive for a feeding apron part of which Fig. 13 is a plan view. Fig. 14; is a plan of a turret and a sprocket wheel and adjacent parts adapted for use in a modified form of my invented device.

The endless apron, 1, carries thebags of raw sugar from a point convenient to the ship or car to a point near the bin. To distribute them on this apron I use a feeding apron, 3, upon which the bags are placed. Its oischarge is upon the apron, 1. The mecha- I nism driving the apron, 3, isunderthe control of an operator who regulatesitsdriving mechanism by means, for nstance, of an electric switch 96 sothat,n o matter how lrregularly the bags are pla ced on the apron,-3,-they can be discharged uponthe apron, 1, so that, they will be distributed su'ficiently evenly on it to betaken care 'ctby the automatic bag 7 unptier. The apron, 3,1s dr1ven,1npract1ce, y.;an1electr1c mot0r, 25that;.1s undenthecon- I trol ofthe;operator'andicanbe started, and stopped and its speed regulated by him. This motor drives the belt 3, through the worm,

v.39,.and,thegge'ar wheel, '27, and is carriediby J thepulleys, 24, and 26. The aprons, 1, travels continuously ata regular speed and 1S supported at intervals asby the rollers-2, 2. The

driving pulley, isconveniently placed at 't's dischargeaand an idler, 5, canbeused-to i'ceeptheapron, 1,Itant andthe apron can be 7 kept clean by-the revolving brush,l19. H

The receivingv end of the inclined auxiliary apron, 30, is elevated-toa height preferably only slightlybelow the level of the apron, 1,

its discharge .iThc sid guides, 3 keep the sugar dischargedfromthebags from going on the side of-theapron, 3,0. In practice, is an electric motor with a shaft,'ca rryin aworm, '83, meshing with the gear,-84,

drivingthe pulley, 4, and the main apron,

1, and also the sprocket wheel, 81; from which the chain, -86,;the sprocketwheel, 85,

and the pulley, 33, drive the inclined auXil- N iary apron, 30. Theupper or receiving-end ofthelapron, 30,is carried by: the small 31 01181, 9. f i N, j c

The ;automatic bag emptier, is composed of a number of bag carriers, 10,-which are oined together in an endless series of flexible connections, 15, and move along a closed circuit onthe track, 12,'on trolley,-11 the springs p cuit continuously bringing disengaged bag hold the devices for catching the bags well above them asthey pass along onthemain I apron, 1; unyielding connections, that are slackened by the pull of the spring, 7, when the carrier isnot drawn down by the Weight ofthe bag" or by the attendant (see Fig.5)

limit the distance the devices for catching the bags can be separated fromthe rest of the "bag carrier (see Fig. 9;) 1 In practice, the hanger, 71, has acha in, 90, which goes to a holder, 91, from which a series of chains, 16,

long enough to allow the hooks, 13, "to be" pulled down and insertedin the bags as they pass along on the apron, 1, .exten'dto ,the

trolleys and hanger is .illustrated especially in Fig. .7 in which a yoke composed of the arms, 73, and carries the pulleys, 11, 11,

that run on the inner side of the flange, 72, which is carried from thefiange, 74, by the web, 7,6,.the loop, 7 0, serves conveniently to secure the end of the chain forming the flex- -1ble connectionsbetween the bag carriers.

I .findit very advantageous to. form the bus, 14-(see zFigs. 5,and 6,.especially) of a rigid backpiece, 530, having;loops, '58, for

the supporting chains, 55, and 53, and a more flexible (piece, formed of strongleather or other. suitable-substance, to which are secured thehooks, 13. I .A'pair ofturrets, 175, (see :Eigs. 11 and With radially projecting sprockets, 1172,

may replace the endless .track,.carrying the hangers, 170,01 bag-carriers between links, 171, that form flexible connections between holders,.they are each carriedby two sprockets. The intermittently moving apron, 3, and

the-main apron,;1,.canhc driven byzone .drivr 1 lngmechanism' byinterposing a clutch, as 153. A driving pulley through this clutch,

153, with a bevel;gear,152,- meshing with the :bags (which can lie on the tapron l either bottom orQmouthfor-ward or sidewise) and -the;cords closing the months of thebags are cut.

The f ard n r m nt 1 t e causes. the bag carriers to travel in their cir DOI - them. N lhen the-weightis carried by the bag a i rsn o; pos tion to be hooke t bag I Asthe bagpas es .Qfihe d s h rge e d Qf he thelower, the disoharge end ofthe apron,

. 30,.and-ofi it,i fdesired, (llI'BOtlYzlIltO. a port of h r cei ing" -1 h bas pties. the-spring, 7, has lifted, usually, the empty vbagyandit can be removed readily-by an at 'tenda-nt.

- h f dinga r n an: missp ed-vi a i whe the bags are d trihu abkf i y n- Yes ly in the main apron without its use, and other changes may be made without depart ing from my invention.

I claim:

1. In a machine for binning raw sugar from bags, having a constantly moving bag conveying apron and means for distributing the bags along the same, a bag emptier consisting of a series of bag carriers adapted to be engaged with the bags while lying on said apron, supports for said carriers, connections between the bag carriers spacing them from each other and transmitting the motion imparted to one of said bag carriers to the others, said bag carriers being movable in the direction of the movement of the bag conveying apron by the movement of the bag on the conveying apron, and an inclined apron receiving the bags from the discharge end of the bag conveying apron.

2. The device as described in claim 1 wherein said bag carriers and supports form a mutually connected endless series.

8. The device as defined in claim 1 with the following additional elements, namely :said bag carriers having supports provided with trolley wheels and stationary endless track on which said trolley wheels run.

4. In a machine for binning raw sugar from bags having a constantly moving bag conveying apron, and means for distributing the bag along the same, a bag emptier comprising a series of bag carriers adapted to be engaged with the bags on the conveying apron, and supports for the bag holders comprising an endless track and an endless se ries of hangers for carrying the bag carriers provided with flexible connections connecting said hangers, and positioned so that the path of the hangers extends beyond the discharge end of the conveying apron.

5. The device as defined in claim 4 wherein the said supports are provided with yielding devices extended by the full bags of sugar, but lifting the bags upwards when the bags are emptied.

6. The device as defined in claim 4 with the following additional elements :and pulleys at the curved portions of the path of the bag carriers engaging with said flexible connections.

7. In a machine for binning raw sugar from bags, the combination with a continuously moving main carrying apron, and an inclined auxiliary apron, at the delivery end of the said carrying apron, of positive means for driving said aprons, a bag emptier, containing a series of mutually connected bag carriers, which carriers have means for engagement with the bottoms of the bags and a plurality of which are positioned above the delivery end of the said carrying apron, and are driven by the movement of the bags deposited on the carrying apron.

8. In a machine for binning raw sugar from bags, the combination of a constantly moving bag conveying main apron, means for distributing the bags upon this apron, a bag emptier comprising a series of bag carriers adjusted to be engaged with the bottoms of the bags while the same are lying on said main apron, supports for said carriersand an inclined chute upon which the'bags pass when main apron consists of a feed apron driven by power and under the controlof the operator.

10. The device as defined in'claim 8, where in the inclined chute upon which the bags pass when discharged from the main chute has a bottom formed of a travelling apron.

11. In a machine for binning raw sugar wherein the bags are carried towards the bin by a main conveying apron, a bag emptier comprising in combination a series of bag carriers adapted to be engaged with the bottoms of the bags, supports for said carriers comprising an element of positive length and a spring elevating the carriers above the-level they would reach down to it depending solely from said element of positive length.

12. The device as defined in claim 11, wherein the series of bag carriers are linked together. 7

13. The device as defined. in claim 11, wherein the series of bag carriers are moved by the movement of the bags upon the main apron when engaged with the said bags.

14. In a machine for binning raw sugar wherein the bags are transported towards the bin by and upon a main constantly moving conveying apron, a bag emptier placed at the delivery end of said apron and comprising in combination a closed track, bag carriers adapted to engage with the bottoms of said bags, and supports for said carriers placed upon said track, said supports containing springs lifting the carriers clear of the bags as carried by the main conveying apron.

15. The device as defined in claim 14 wherein the bag carriers and supports are driven around said track by the movement of the bilge with which the said carriers are engage Y 16. The device as defined in claim 14, wherein the supports for the said bag carriers are flexibly connected together and are driven around the track by the movement of the bags lying on the said main apron, with which bags the carriers are engaged.

17. The combination of a continuously travelling main conveying apron, a feed apron having its discharge at the ontake of the said vconveying apron, power operating mechanism for driving said-feed apronunder the regulation of the operator, and capable of stopping and starting. the-:feed apron wlthoutinterrupting-the movement ofsaid main.

conve in a ron aba emtier situated at the discharge of the said conveying apron,

and a chute for receiving the raw sugar placed at said discharge of said main convey 111g apron, sald bag emptier comprlsmg .1n

combinationia track; a series of'bagcarriers and supports for said bagv carriers, .the bag carriers being adapted to engage With the -bags as. carriedby the main conveying apron and moved along said track by the saidbags on said apron.

18. In a machine for binning rawpsugar,

the combination of a constantly moving main bag conveying apron, means for distributing the bags of sugar along the same, comprising an auxiliary apron havlngilts dlscharge end over themain apron and the travel of which auxiliary apron is under the control of the operator, said -.-machine having at its dischargeend, a 'bagemptier, compnsmgmovable bag carriers travelling along a fixed path and positioned to support the bags,

mouth downward, afterthey are discharged from. the discharge end of the main apron.

=19. In a machine vforloinningiraw'sugar,

the combination of a-constantly moving main 7 bag conveying apron, means for distributing the bags ofsngar along the same underrthe control of the operator, said machine having at its discharge end a bag emptier comprisin movable bagcarriers travellingalong a fixe path, a portion of said path extending beyond the. discharge endv of saidmain apron,

and an. inclined trough placed at the said dis charge end o f said main apron, the upper end ofwhich ispositioned beneath the portion of the: path of the, bag emptiers that extends bei yond the end of the main apron.

' "zWILLIAM-H. HOODLESS. 

